In this analysis of the Old Testament's Joseph and his eleven brothers, one of my favorite authors from childhood (A Wrinkle In Time) has pursued a line of questions worthy of a family therapist. L'Engle essentially explores the patriarchal legacy of Jacob and his sons on a level that blurs the line between spiritual and psychosocial development. She expresses faith that God knows where He is headed with Joseph, yet allows plenty of room for us to enjoy how much these biblical characters resemble our own families. Jealousy, murderous intrigue, envy, revenge, retribution, redemption, and forgiveness all are present. Sexual politics in a two-wife family (not so different from today's divorced, blended, and/or affair-tainted marriages) and the complicated half-sibling relationships that result are clearly presented. L'Engle intersperses her commentary on Joseph with autobiographical material regarding her widowhood and changing sense of family after the death of her husband. At one level, this makes for a rambling and almost chatty work; at another level, it adds intimacy and makes for a sympathetic (rather than judgemental) reponse to the foibles of Joseph's family. Like an old favorite aunt, L'Engle sometimes repeats herself, overgeneralizes, or wrongly assumes that her faith is the same as ours. Oh, but would that we all had a favorite aunt with this much compassion for the human condition to which this epic story speaks! My spiritual journey has been enriched.

Well done and nicely written. It was an easy read as well as interesting.

I'm a big fan of the entire Biblical "Joseph" story and so I was eager to get this book. It is a fast read but unfortunately a disappointing one. There are many awkward phrasings throughout the book that took me a second to understand. While the character of Joseph is nicely cocky in the beginning, such little time is actually spent on his journey to Egypt, his slavery to Potiphar, and his time in prison that it is difficult to understand and empathize with the emotional and psychological changes he shows. Likewise the relationships Joseph develops with Egyptians, especially those he would be close to such as his master and his wife, are treated rather briefly and in his wife's case a bit sexistly. Overall I was very disappointed.

James Shott continues his series with this sequel to Leah about the fortunes of Jacob's favorite son.

As it opens, Leah's misgivings have proven all too warranted. Jacob's blatant favoritism, Joseph's arrogance and the murderous anger of her sons have finally all combined for trouble. Reuben, as Leah predicted too soft natured to keep his brothers in hand, is able to prevent bloodshed but not Joseph's sale into slavery. So begins the wonderful story of Joseph's transformation from spoiled brat to slave to prisoner to the second most powerful man in Egypt and, finally, a reconciliation with his brothers.

Unlike Leah, this is fairly familiar territory but worth a read if like me you love the story. And it includes the zinger at the end of the story that we all tend to forget - that it was Judah and not Joseph whose line carried the Promise - a reminder never to get too cocky even when you're God's golden child.

I purchased this book to be part of a character education program at a Chiristian pre-school. Imagine my surprise when half way through the book the Queen asks Joseph to go to her bed! I know this event was in the biblical original, but for kids it could have been toned down. It will not be included in our progrom - some parents may not choose to face the questions yet.

The answers directly follow the questions, which are not useful to make you think about organic chemistry. Very dissapointing.

THE TYPES OF PROBLEMS THAT YOU WILL GET IN CLASS WILL NEVER BE AS SIMPLE OR COMPLEX AS THE ONES IN THIS BOOK. YOUR BETTER OFF DOING THE QUESTIONS OUT OF THE TEXT BOOK FOR YOUR CLASS!

The book is your source to a plethora of additional problems. Yet don't expect the exam problems to be similar to those you find in this Schaum series. You might find some of these problems extra strenuous or over-simplified. For all the major functional groups, the book does provide lots of practice problems in reaction products, reactivity, and stereochemistry. You might need to cover up the solutions which immediately follow the questions. Students should foucs on soloving the mechanism-type of problems from textbooks before looking at this book. Check this out from your library!